Review by Booklist Review
Irish writer Connell gives readers a tight debut memoir of farming and personal reflection. Told entirely in the present tense, it covers a handful of months spent working on his parents' small farm. There is much about the habits and manner of sheep and cattle, but nonagrarian readers shouldn't be turned off; Connell uses descriptions of animals to negotiate his relationship with his home, his father, and his own melancholy. He invites readers into his reverence for cows, presenting their evolutionary history and arguing that our treatment of them says something about humanity at large. In short, sometimes clipped, sentences, Connell flirts with melodrama, telling of the fire in his belly when he chats with a writer mentor who is the master he sought for all those years, but he is mostly successful in negotiating the risk of sentimentality. The Farmer's Son echoes Aldo Leopold's articulation of the land ethic, Michael Pollan's writing on the food chain, and Ivan Doig's plain-language music. Admirers of these writers will celebrate the entrance of Connell's strong and distinct voice.--Jason Hess Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In this moody, lyrical memoir, Connell, a writer and film producer, recounts his return to his family's farm in Ireland's Midlands region when he was 29. It is ostensibly a temporary stay to help his parents during calving season, but the bittersweet homecoming becomes a haven from the crushing depressive episodes Connell suffers, and he uses the time to better understand his heritage and contemplate his identity as a writer ("Perhaps Birchview is my Walden. I have felt that it is only in the last year that I have finally begun to live"). He ruminates about how his father's storytelling abilities provided him the "gift of writing," while also describing the unspoken resentments between an overworked, aging father and the son he feels is wasting his life. As the season progresses, Connell develops a routine of listening to Hemingway audiobooks while tending to his herds and flocks, through it all pondering the juxtaposition of the farmer's life with his former artist's existence. Eventually, a climactic argument about the farm degrades into scathing screeds that leave both father and son confused about the future of their "fractious relationship." Connell's measured voice creates a slow, powerful drip of emotional revelation that earns the reader's admiration. This is a beautifully written memoir of the challenges faced when returning home. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
Journalist and writer Connell centers his debut book on life at his family's farm in County Longford, Ireland, focusing on the complexity and rewards of maintaining a farm. Set during a mostly January through April stretch, the narrative brings to light the challenges of raising and birthing calves and lambs. Connell also considers Celtic mythology and Irish history, as well as the development of livestock throughout the world, from ancient times to the present. The grime, subtle difficulties, triumphs, and failures of assisting the birth of livestock, as well as the threats of disease and accidents form an important component. As is the author's concern of the degradations of factory farming, livestock welfare, and confined animal feeding operations. The deeply thoughtful writing offers insights into Connell's depression and estrangements from his difficult father, along with his experiences in Australia, Canada, and Spain. Connell touches on climate change, traditional vs. corporate farming, the importance of his Irish community, and the influences of art, music, religion, and literature. VERDICT This gem is compelling reading, much more relevant in many areas than it might seem. For all readers, especially those interested in farming and rural life.-Henry T. Armistead, formerly with Free Lib. of Philadelphia © Copyright 2019. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A writer returns home to work at his family's farm in rural Ireland and records day-to-day struggles and triumphs throughout his first season.In this thoughtfully observed and poignant debut memoir, Connell paints a remarkably authentic portrait of farm life in all its harshness and beauty. His story begins in January as he is about to deliver his first calf on his own. He describes the long, painstakingly intense procedure before he successfully delivered the calf, followed by the equally difficult task of helping the newborn to feed. This experience sets the tone for the engrossing narrative that follows, as Connell recounts the many challenging moments he faced over the next several months. These included the births and deaths of various livestock, endless feeding and cleaning, and protecting the animals from varied and unpredictable forces of nature. "The work is so relentless that I have forgotten I have lived other lives or that other lives exist," writes Connell. "There is only the yard and cows and the mountain of chores before me." The author also shares his internal struggle with his identity and family, in particular the difficult ties with his father, who has been mentor and guide and occasionally his harshest critic. Connell returned to the farm following a 10-year absence working as a journalist and film producer and living abroad, all the while preserving a longing for the farm life he left behind and struggling through periods of depression. Though the author vividly depicts the many hardships and grueling labor involved in running a farm, he maintains an open reverence for the intrinsic value of these efforts and a deep compassion for the animals and environment. "Farming," he writes, "is a walk with survival, with death over our shoulder, sickness to our left, the spirit to our right and the joy of new life in front."A deeply felt, unforgettable story that will linger in readers' imaginations. Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
